NEW TOOL: Province invests $310K to help police respond to people suffering mental health crisis

HealthIM representative Daniel Pearson Hirdes gives a presentation on the HealthIM risk assessment tool to be installed in patrol cars and on other mobile devices in nine Manitoba police agencies including the Winnipeg Police Service, Brandon Police Service and RCMP detachments in Steinbach, Thompson and Portage la Prairie at a press conference at Winnipeg Police Service headquarters on Monday.GLEN DAWKINS/Winnipeg Sun/Postmedia Network

Manitoba government is investing over $310,000 from the Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund in a new tool that will allow nine police agencies to improve how they respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis with the goal of de-escalating potentially dangerous situations, it was announced Monday.

“These police agencies understand that there is a need for this tool everywhere in every community to help our front-line officers, the people in crisis and the broader community”, said Justice Minister Cliff Cullen.

With the funding, police forces in Winnipeg, Brandon, Ste. Anne, Winkler, Altona, Morden and Rivers along with the Manitoba First Nations Police Service and RCMP detachments in Steinbach, Thompson and Portage la Prairie will install an evidence-based HealthIM risk assessment tool in patrol cars and on other mobile devices. When police respond to a call and find a person in a mental health crisis, the tool will help them determine the most appropriate response based on their observations and an assessment of the potential risks.

Justice Minister Cliff Cullen speaks at a press conference at Winnipeg Police Service headquarters in Winnipeg on Monday, flanked by Winnipeg Police Service Deputy Chief Gord Perrier (left) and HealthIM representative Daniel Pearson Hirdes (right) to announce that the Manitoba government is investing over $310,000 through the Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund on the HealthIM risk assessment tool to be installed in patrol cars and on other mobile devices in nine Manitoba police agencies including the Winnipeg Police Service, Brandon Police Service and RCMP detachments in Steinbach, Thompson and Portage la Prairie.GLEN DAWKINS/Winnipeg Sun/Postmedia Network

“All of this information is incredibly valuable particularly when officers are expected to make quick decisions,” said Cullen. “The end result might mean the person is taken into police custody or if there is a high risk of harm or injury. But it could also mean that in lower risk situations the officer helps make a referral to a community mental health provider.”

HealthIM receivers will also be installed in local emergency rooms, nursing stations and community mental health agencies to support secure information sharing. This will also help reduce the amount of time police officers spend with people in emergency departments as they are triaged.

According to Winnipeg police Deputy Chief Gord Perrier, check the well-being are No. 2 calls that Winnipeg police respond to, which can be categorized as a mental health call. Similar experiences can be found by other police services regardless of size.

Winnipeg Police Service Deputy Chief Gord Perrier speaks at a press conference at Winnipeg Police Service headquarters in Winnipeg on Monday, flanked by Justice Minister Cliff Cullen (left) and HealthIM representative Daniel Pearson Hirdes (right). The tool will help police determine the most appropriate response to people experiencing a mental health crisis with the goal of de-escalating potentially dangerous situations.GLEN DAWKINS/Winnipeg Sun/Postmedia Network

“Our primary goal in responding to those situations is first stabilizing that situation and making sure it’s safe,” said Perrier. “If there are criminal matters to deal with, we will still deal with these things. Right now even within the systems if a person needs interdiction by the health system in conjunction with criminal charges, those two systems have ways to interact with each other if somebody is custody or taken to hospital to make sure they have the care they need.

“This tool is used once that situation has stablized and interviews can occur and we can gather that information in a way that is safe and is not that dynamic.”

Implementation is already underway with all participating police agencies expected to have the HealthIM tool in place this year. The Winnipeg police hopes to have the program fully operational by late spring or early summer, Perrier said.

HealthIM is an Ontario-based company and its software and other tools have been used to help municipal police agencies in Ontario and Saskatchewan respond more effectively in these types of situations since 2013.

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